"Things kind of close really early in town if you don't want to drink, if you don't want to go listen to live music," Anna Hardy told Black Mountain News in September. She and her husband, Zac, are opening a board-game café partly because of that gap. In the same interview she said, "There's not too many things after like 6 p.m."
I think she's right, and her point goes further than closing times. Without the bars and the stages, almost everything to do in Black Mountain after dinner happens on one particular night, with a ticket and a start time. If you want to go out without a drink this November or December, start with the calendar.
The Few Places Open Every Night
Look at regular posted hours and the list of places you can simply walk into after 6 p.m. on a weeknight is short.
- The Hop Black Mountain, 114 Cherry Street, lists its hours as daily, noon to 9 p.m. That makes it the most dependable evening stop downtown that isn't a bar. The page carries no date, so check before you plan a night around a scoop.
- Black Mountain Library, 105 N Dougherty St., stays open until 7 p.m. on Thursdays only. It closes at 6 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, at 5 on Fridays and Saturdays, and is closed Sundays and Mondays.
- Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center, 223 West State Street, is open to the public Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., from March through December.
The museum and the library both do evening programs, but only as scheduled events. The museum's ghost walk and the library's book club are both on the November calendar below. The library's late Thursday is the one standing exception.
A Café Planned Around the Hours After Dinner
The Cheeseboard is meant to fill that gap. Black Mountain News reported that Zac and Anna Hardy are leasing the former La Tapas space at 400 East State St. They plan a café serving grilled cheeses and cheese boards, with their personal collection of more than 300 board games on the shelves. The games run from kids' titles and beginner games to grand strategy. Zac Hardy told the paper they stock "a lot of games for the normal person," and that what most people want to play is "the classics."
The idea grew out of Helene. According to the same story, the couple started seriously considering a board-game café after the storm, when they saw empty buildings around town. They wanted something other than another bar or coffee shop. Zac has a background in construction, and Anna teaches environmental science at Montreat College.
The September story said the café would open in November. The couple's fundraiser page, created in late August, says they signed a commercial lease and were aiming for early November. Neither one gives opening-day hours. If you're heading to East State Street this week, check that the doors are open before you bring the family.
When it opens, it will be one of the very few downtown places built for the evening that doesn't center on a bar or a band. The rest of the season still runs on dates.
November, One Night at a Time
These are the dated November evenings without a bar on the calendar, with a couple of daytime events for comparison:
- Friday, Nov. 6, 7 p.m.: Haunted History Tour. This Swannanoa Valley Museum walking tour leaves from the museum at 223 West State Street and runs about an hour. Stops include Dripolator, Veranda Cafe, Sassafras-on-Sutton and the Black Mountain Depot. Tickets are $25 for museum members and $30 for general admission, and the museum recommends it for ages 13 and up. The Oct. 16 tour sold out, and Nov. 6 is the last date on this season's list.
- Sunday, Nov. 8, 2 p.m.: Soluna String Quartet at Black Mountain Center for the Arts. This one is an afternoon concert. The players regularly perform with the Asheville and Greenville symphonies.
- Thursday, Nov. 12, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.: Book club at Black Mountain Library. It meets on the one weeknight the branch stays open until 7.
- Saturday, Nov. 14, 7:30 p.m.: "No Matter What You Tell Me" at Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 W State St. This is the North Carolina premiere of Benjamin Boucvalt's one-man play, which follows a son digging into long-buried family secrets. Tickets are $25, and there's a 2 p.m. matinee on Nov. 15.
- Friday, Nov. 20, 7:30 p.m.: Evan Blackerby Trio at Black Mountain Center for the Arts. This is a seated concert of what the center calls "alt-bluesy Americana," held in the Gale Jackson Theatre. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.
- Saturday, Nov. 21: Last main-season Black Mountain Tailgate Market. It runs 9 a.m. to noon at 130 Montreat Road, at First Baptist Church, and isn't an evening event. It's on this list because the market's holiday run includes the one evening market of the year, below.
The arts center has two November evenings, a Saturday and a Friday, puts its quartet on a Sunday afternoon and gives its play a weekend matinee. The museum's evening offering is a set run of tour dates, and the November date is the last one. These hosts schedule evening events on purpose and in limited numbers, so the dates fill up and then end.
The First Weekend of December Fills the Evenings
The pattern holds into December, and for one weekend almost the whole calendar lands on the same two days. The Chamber-hosted Holly Jolly Celebration is set up as the evening that opens the holiday season, and it's paired on purpose with the Christmas Parade the next afternoon. Its listing calls the first weekend of December the busiest of the town's holiday calendar.
Date | Event | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
Thu., Dec. 3 | Deck the Trees opens and runs through Jan. 1 | Participating locations, list not yet posted | Ongoing |
Fri., Dec. 4 | Holly Jolly Celebration | Downtown Black Mountain | Evening, exact schedule TBD |
Fri., Dec. 4 | Tailgate Market holiday market | Foothills Grange, 120 Broadway Ave., and Old Town District, 110 Black Mountain Ave. | 4 to 8 p.m. |
Sat., Dec. 5 | Holly Jolly Christmas Parade | Downtown | Lineup 2 p.m., parade 4 p.m. |
Sat., Dec. 5 | Circle of Lights | Lake Tomahawk Park | After dark, start time TBD |
On the Friday, the evening events overlap. The Holly Jolly listing describes downtown shops staying open late, carolers, live entertainment and a visit from Santa. The Tailgate Market's holiday market runs 4 to 8 p.m. the same night, and that's the only evening slot in its holiday schedule. The later holiday markets on Dec. 5, 12 and 19 run noon to 4 p.m. One caution: the market's homepage and its vendor page list different hours for Dec. 4 and 5. The table uses the homepage schedule, so confirm with the market before you go.
Saturday continues from afternoon into dark. The parade steps off at 4 p.m., and Circle of Lights follows at Lake Tomahawk after dark. The Town of Black Mountain organizes it.
If you get to the lake early, look for the new 24-by-10-foot accessible fishing pier near the tennis courts and pavilion. The Town scheduled construction for early October as an Eagle Scout project, and The Valley Echo reported on Oct. 7 that it was close to finished.
Deck the Trees is a Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry fundraiser with decorated trees at participating locations around town, running Dec. 3 through Jan. 1. Its 2026 location brochure hasn't been posted yet. It's the one holiday event on this list without a single night attached, so it suits an evening when nothing else is scheduled.
Planning Around the Dates
For a night out without a drink, the practical approach is to put the dates on your calendar now. That means Nov. 6 for the ghost walk, Nov. 14 for the play, Dec. 4 for Holly Jolly and the evening market, and Dec. 5 for the parade and the lights at Lake Tomahawk. On ordinary nights, your options are The Hop until 9, the library's late Thursday and, once it opens, The Cheeseboard at 400 East State St.
I keep this kind of calendar for myself, and I'm happy to share it. If you want to know what's happening in Black Mountain the week your relatives come to town, or which holiday weekend downtown will be busiest, give me a call or send me an email. Mark Causby answers questions about the town, not just about houses. Let's Connect.
